Credit Union Partners With Harbor House Crisis Shelters For Christmas Joy

DULUTH, Minn.– Today, the efforts of the Duluth community is paying off.

Because every child at the Harbor House Crisis Shelters will experience a Christmas this year.

For over a month, toy donations have been accumulating at all of the Harbor Pointe Credit Union banks in the Duluth area.

The toys are heading to Harbor House Crisis Shelters.

This is the second year the two have paired up for the holiday season.

And while they had success last year. The effort has drastically increased for this year’s drive.

“So, for a lot of the kids, they may have not had a good Christmas for the last few years. A lot of them have been homeless for quite a while. It’s a lot harder to find housing even if you’re employed. So having the community come in and help us makes everybody’s Christmas so much better. A lot of them wouldn’t have gotten a toy,” said Krystal Brandstatter, Executive Director for Harbor House Crisis Shelters.

The staff at both the banks, and the shelters, were overwhelmed with joy because of the turnout.

“I walked into the union today, and when I saw this, I’m just blown away. It’s just so heartwarming to know that our members and our staff and others want to support families in need. And this is kind of what this is all about,” said Polly John, Board Chair for Harbor Pointe Credit Union.

Executive Director for Harbor House Crisis Shelters also mentioned that gift-giving tripled from last year’s drive.

And they’re now able to help families that have also left the shelter as well.